Superhero Noir Comic Powers Coming To Playstation Network In December

The annual gaming expo E3 is obviously a go-to spot for gamer news, but the decreasing gap between entertainment platforms means TV fans now have a reason to pay attention. At this year’s event, Sony not only announced the PlayStation TV is possibly coming to the U.S. this year, but they also revealed a December release window for Powers, their previously announced adaptation of the hugely popular superpowered comic series from Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Avon Oeming. Part of me thinks that this was a dream concocted by a supervillain whose power is stacking up my hopes.

Powers, which began life at Image Comics in 2000 before moving to Marvel’s Icon line in 2004, is a genre-mashing tale of a world filled with superpowered people, and the two cops who take on the super cases. Christian Walker is a hulking former Power who lost his abilities, and Deena Pilgrim is a tough cop whose former superior officer was crooked. The series begins with the murder of Retro Girl, and literally all kinds of murder cases followed in the years after, with our leads dutifully taking down all the bad guys, later ending up with the FBI. It's truly the kind of superhero comic for people who generally hate them, as it often works solely as a high-concept police procedural, something Bendis is perfect at.

According to THR, the first season of Powers will be free to access for anyone with a PlayStation Plus subscription. The first episode will be free for anyone to watch through the PlayStation Network, in a clear move to get more people subscribed. It’s unclear at this point if Sony will be looking to put the series on any other platforms, but they’re clearly interested in exploiting the exclusivity of PSN subscriptions. They’ve also got a Ratchet & Clank feature in the works, which will premiere on the network next year at some point.

In his E3 presentation, Bendis told the audience that casting is currently ongoing and we can expect to hear news about the series all summer. He’ll serve as executive producer along with Falling Skies’ Remy Aubuchon and Circle of Confusion’s David Engel (The Walking Dead), and the showrunner will be author/comic writer Charlie Huston. You can watch Bendis talk more about the series and the concept in the video below.

You may have noticed he unveiled a shot of concept art for the series, which looks a little too video game-y for my tastes, but concepts aren’t final products, so I’m not judging too harshly.

You may recall a few years ago, when FX was so close to getting Powers on TV, only to fall back on failed reshoots and then complete abandonment. It’s an ambitious and unique first project, but it would take a lot to screw up this consistently enjoyable source material. Now I just need to see if my PSN account still exists.